Malaysia PM in Netherlands for discussions over MH17 disaster

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived in the Netherlands Thursday (July 31) for a two-day tight working visit over the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 crash in Ukraine.

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File photo: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak addresses a press conference at a hotel in Sepang. (AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)

AMSTERDAM: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived in the Netherlands Thursday (July 31) for a two-day tight working visit over the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 crash in Ukraine.

He is scheduled to meet with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte during the visit, the primary aim of which is to help expedite the repatriation of the remains of the Malaysian victims of the tragedy.

Najib flew into Schiphol International Airport at 8am (2pm Malaysia/Singapore time), accompanied by his wife Rosmah Mansor. Health Minister Dr S. Subramaniam, Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman and MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya were also in Najib’s delegation.

Najib is scheduled to travel to The Hague and then to Hilversum as part of his visit. It is at Hilversum that the remains of the air tragedy victims are undergoing identification and forensic process.

Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands Dr Fauziah Mohamad Taib had said Wednesday that Najib would meet first with Rutte in The Hague and then leave for Hilversum. In the evening, he is scheduled to host a dinner for Malaysians in the Netherlands.

The MAS flight, MH17, was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border on July 17. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which was carrying 298 people – 283 passengers and 15 crew – is believed to have been shot down, but until today no one has claimed responsibility.

The remains of the victims were flown from Ukraine to the Netherlands. Dutch nationals, at 193, comprised the largest number of passengers on Flight MH17.

- Bernama/ac

Malaysia PM in Netherlands for discussions over MH17 disaster